The characters in Minas Tirith

The story of Manhisiel .

am not much used to talking of myself, but, as I am willing to tell you my story, I will have to.

et me start by telling you some things about my origin.

y father, Stepan Chivenguir, is a descendant of the Men of Numenor. His grand-father had already come to live in the White City, where my family slowly went through the ranks. All of the men in my familly were Rangers who helped the Kings and the Stewards of Gondor as much as they could, ready to give their lifes for Minas Tirith.

y mother is Aludaunien, and she is an Elf from Rivendell. She spent her life between the Last Homely House and Lothlorien, learning all what she could, reading a lot, and trying to find out stories of her ancestors, because little of them is known.

y parents met on the Road, near Bree. My father, who had been sent there on an mission, had been attacked by so many Orcs that he could not fight back and was lying on the Road, badly wounded. My mother, who was wandering on the Road going to Bree to learn more about Mankind, found him lying there and took him to the city so he could be healed. Thanks to Eru, he woke up a few days later, out of danger. He asked what had happened and he was answered that it was an Elf that had saved him and that she was called Aludaunien, but had left the city one day earlier to return to Rivendell. So, though he was not completly healed, my father left Bree for Rivendell, wishing to thank his saviour.

hen he got to Rivendell and met Aludaunien, he saw only her, and fell under the charm of the young Elf. She too felt something for that man named Stepan.

he presence of Stepan in the Elvish city was only tolerated while he was finishing to recover from his wounds. He spent days with Aludaunien, and their love slowly grew. But the time flew too fast for the two lovers and soon Stepan had to leave. He asked Aludaunien to come with him, but she answered that she needed a bit more time to make up her mind, and that she would come to Minas Tirith when she would have decided.

t didn’t took more than two months for Aludaunien to make her choice, and giving up her immortality, she travelled to Minas Tirith.

am the fruit of this union and this is why I have an Elvish name, pointy ears, and fair-colored hair, though I am smaller than an Elf and not immortal.

was born in Minas Tirith, and there, I spent the first eight years of my life. It was a wonderful childhood! When I was very young, my mother started to teach me Sindarin and Quenya, among a lot of other things. And, when I was not playing with the other children of the city, my father, who had decided to raise me as a boy, taught me how to used swords and bows, as well as riding.

loved Minas Tirith as, I think, every child loves his city.

remember spending hours with my friends, running in the crowded streets of the city. We would pretend to be Rangers hunting Evil and fighting for Justice. For me, it was but a game, until a day I will never forget: the first day I saw King Elessar. I was seven at that time. An old Ranger had died and the King had given a speech in his honour in front of the Royal Palace. All the Rangers were present, surrounding the King, my father among them. It is this day, when I saw all those brave men and women reunited, that I understood how important their mission was and I swore to myself that one day I would become one of them.

did not tell my parents, fearing how they would react. I knew my mother would not accept it, for she hated weapons and fighting. As for my father, I was not sure he would allow his only daughter to go and risk her life in the wilderness. But a child cannot hold a secret for long and a few months after, on the day of my eight birthday, I told them. My father was overwelmed with joy! As he had no son, he feared that the tradition that every generation of the familly had at least one member in the Rangers, would be over with me. But my mother was far from being pleased by the idea. She said to my father that I needed to learn how to act like a girl. So she decided that we would go to Rivendell.

eaving Minas Tirith frightened me quite a lot, but I was so excited at the idea of going to an Elf city that the trip did not seem that long.

ivendell. When I arrived there I looked like a boy with my short hair. The Elves were surprised by the way I acted at first. I couldn’t stop moving for more than five seconds. I spent my time running all over the place, playing tricks on everyone. But that soon stopped when my mother managed to get me to start reading. At that point no one could get me out of the Library! I slowly learned how to be calm and moderated. I learned patience among other things that a girl has to know. I started to grow up as a very cultivated young girl.

y father came as often as possible. He would tell me all about the news in the White City and everything new about the Rangers. I did not missed Minas Tirith too much, only some of my friends. I would tell my father about the new poems and legends I had read.

t is at that time that I started to write. At first, it was only some short stories of no interest, but them I started to write poems and ballads. I thought of becoming a ministrel, giving up my promise of entering the Rangers. Whereas my mother was glad of my choice, my father was angry at me and his visits were more and more rare.

ut things were going to change again. One day, as I was fifteen, on one of my walks on the Road, I saw Orcs attacking two children. I tried to do something, but as I carried no weapon, I was knocked out very quickly. When I woke up, I was not too gravely wounded, but the children had disappeared, kidnapped by the Orcs. I had never felt as guilty as this day and I hated this feeling!

ran back to Rivendell and I told my mother what had happened and that I wanted to go back to Minas Tirith to become a Ranger. She did not argue, probably understanding what I felt like.

o, we went back to the capital of Gondor. Seeing the White City again was such a pleasure! I nearly cried as we passed the Gates. The place was as I remembered it, full of activity and noise. It was so different from Rivendell! The surprise of my father was great and even bigger when I told him that I would join the Rangers!

ince that day, I have been travelling around Middle Earth to perfect my skills and my education. Though I didn’t have as much time as before, I kept writing poems and stories, telling them to those who wanted to hear them.

travelled to Rohan where I met the Riders. I also went all the way to the Shire where I took some cooking lessons!! It’s also there that I learned that you had to enjoy every single moment of life.

n my twentieth birthday, my father gave Alundir the familly sword, which is the proof of my heritage. The next morning, I went to the Rangers Headquarter and I enrolled, decided to protect Minas Tirith with my life if nessessary.

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